Preparation
The De Beers company was concerned about the defence of Kimberley some years before the outbreak of the war, particularly its vulnerability to attack from the neighbouring Orange Free State. In 1896, an arms depot was formed, a plan of defence sent to the authorities and a local defence force set up. As it began to look more likely that war would break out, the nervous citizens of Kimberley appealed to the premier of the Cape Colony, William Philip Schreiner, for additional protection, but he did not believe the town to be under serious threat and declined to arm it further. His reply to an appeal for arms in September 1899 stated: "There is no reason whatever for apprehending that Kimberley is or will be in any danger of attack and your fears are therefore groundless."
The town next appealed to the High Commissioner, this time with more success. On 4 October 1899, Major Scott-Turner was permitted to summon volunteers to join the town guard and raise the Diamond Fields Artillery. Three days later, the town was placed under the command of Colonel Robert Kekewich of the 1st Battalion, Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire), and secured against a coup de main, but not against sustained siege.
Colonel Kekewich's troops consisted of four companies of the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment, some Royal Engineers, six RML 2.5 inch Mountain Guns and two machine guns. Also at his disposal were 120 men of the Cape Police (recalled from various outposts along the railway line), 2,000 irregular troops, the Kimberley Light Horse, and a battery of obsolete seven-pounder guns. Eight Maxim machine guns were mounted on redoubts built atop tailing heaps around the town.
Cecil John Rhodes, the founder of De Beers, was contemplating moving into the town. The citizens feared that his presence there, given his prominent role in the breakdown of Anglo-Boer relations leading up to the war, would antagonise the Boers. Consequently, the mayor of Kimberley, as well as various associates of Rhodes, tried to discourage him. However Rhodes ignored the advice and moved into the town just prior to the onset of the siege, very narrowly evading capture when the Boer ultimatum expired at 5 pm on 11 October while he was still en route. It was a calculated move to raise the political stakes and thereby force the government to divert war resources to lifting the siege. Since most of the resources in the garrison were owned by De Beers, Rhodes inevitably became an important factor in the defence organised by Colonel Robert Kekewich. As head of the mining company that owned most of the assets in the town, the military felt that Rhodes proved to be more of a hindrance as he did not cooperate fully with them; civil and military authorities were not always working together, especially after the death of the second in command of the garrison, Major Scott-Turner. The military took the following view of Rhodes:
| “ | Rhodes had come into his own Kimberley and for the first time he was not master in it. He found himself a sterilized dictator acting in an atmosphere too tenuous to support his vitality but sufficient to preserve it from extinction. He was subject to the authority of the military commandant, a galling position for a distinguished statesman who had not a high opinion of the professional capacity of the British officer. | ” |
Kekewich decided to include the neighbouring municipality of Beaconsfield as well as the outlying suburb of Kenilworth inside the 22-kilometre (14 mi) defensive perimeter he established around the town. Rhodes sponsored the raising of a new regiment called the Kimberley Light Horse, but Lord Methuen advised Kekewich that "Rhodes is to leave Kimberley the day after I arrive. Tell him he is not to interfere in military matters."
Read more about this topic: Siege Of Kimberley
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